"This is a dramatic and tragic novella written in the form of a letter from a woman to the man whom she has loved for many years. Stefan Zweig has an amazing ability to understand the human psyche and to write in succinct yet beautiful and impassioned prose. As a reader/listener I was completely drawn in to this story, rapt with attention from beginning to end, feeling the drama as it unfolded. The rhythm of this novella felt like a piece of music with certain phrases repeating every so often and after each phrase repetition more of the story is told, building ever higher and higher emotions until the tragic story slows down and ends..

I felt the pain and the passion of this woman who first meets the object of her obsession at the tender age of 13 when he moved into her apartment building. They never met but she watched him as much as possible and was heartbroken when forced to move away with her parents. She remains obsessed with him all of her life. She has only a few encounters with him as an adult woman though each time they meet by chance he never remembers her. This is the bare outline of the story. Further details would only spoil it.

Note: Max Ophuls made a film based on this book starring Joan Fontaine. .


Highly recommended."